Mass Dream

iTunes Review

TV Ghost’s first outing (2009’s Cold Fish) was so buried in dense layers of distortion and fuzz it was difficult to nail down anything resembling melody. On their sophomore release, Mass Dream, the guitars have a sharper edge, carving out detectable song structures and arrangements. Where their debut was like Australia’s Scientists in a mud-shake blender, Mass Dream feels more like the Birthday Party simmered and stirred with Television, those seminal bands’ feral spirit (the former) and sharp angles (the latter) coming together to form a potent stew. “Wired Trap” paves the way with Tim Gick’s early Nick Cave-styled vocal delivery and Tom Verlaine’s wiry guitar tones, the song seesawing and swooping, and delivering some solid punches. There is more space in the songs on Mass Dream, more air, and singer Gick’s unhinged singing makes a bigger impact because of it. These Midwestern boys have a firm grip on making dark, dense music that is powerful and visceral, and Mass Dream shows a real leap in song craft.